Since the nineteenthc entury,s ocial scientistsh ave been unablet o explaina ge and gender
differentialsi n the risk of suicide.A lmost universallym, en have a greater risk of
suicide thanw omen.F urthermorei,n economicallyd evelopedc ountries,t he riskt endst o
be highest for men in old age and for women in middle age. Age patterns of suicide in
some ThirdW orldc ountriesa ref undamentallyd ifferentt han this. I test an interdisciplinary
theoryt hatf ocuses on role identities,e conomicd evelopmenta, nd kinshipi nstitutions
to account for these patterns.